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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Not long ago, I was at the grocery store when Phil Collins' "You Can't Hurry Love" came blaring across the store speakers. I couldn't help but sing - out loud but discreetly - with the music, after quickly glancing to see if anyone else was in the aisle with me.

I stopped singing as I turned to go into the next aisle, only to discover the person in that aisle singing out loud, right along with Phil. I grinned as I passed that individual; and, then, chuckled out loud as I turned into the produce section to find an employee bopping up and down to the beat of the music. Before the song ended, I passed one more person swaying their head and shoulders to the catchy tune.

To my knowledge, none of them saw me or had the slightest inkling that I was secretly marveling at the fact that one song had just put four people in a very similar, happy, upbeat place. It may have only lasted three minutes, but we all had something in common during those brief moments.

Music is powerful ... it can bring people together; but it can also evoke a whole spectrum of emotions based on your time and place in life. A tune that one considers happy; another may consider sad. Lyrics that stir up longing in one person; may bring contentment to another. A beat that makes one person feel the need to dance; may make another person feel the need to sit.

I often think of Steven Curtis Chapman, who was inspired to write the beautiful song, "Cinderella", as he marveled at how quickly his oldest daughter had grown up. In the blink of an eye, it seemed, she was graduating from college and getting engaged. And, how the meaning of those lyrics changed so drastically and instantly for him with the tragic death of his youngest daughter. One song, one person ... with the words "she'll be gone" taking on a devastatingly different meaning.

Music, at its best, tells a story and pulls us in. We may be inspired by the beat, mesmerized by the tune, or drawn to the words.

As for Phil, he speaks the truth ... you simply can't hurry love; and, as it turns out, the tune through which he expresses that message really helps to kick the grocery-shopping experience up a notch!

16 comments:

Oh this will always be a Supremes song to me but I sure can see how it got everyone bopping. I love it when a great song comes on the PA while shopping.. I'd be one of those you passed in the aisle, but I probably would have noticed you too. ;)

As you know, I love music. Certain tunes definitely take me back to certain times.I usually have my iPod at the grocery store so I'm usually humming to my own tunes, but I love that people were singing to the same song at your store. Very fun!

Yes, music can be an incredible bond!My friend and I are big 80's music lovers. One time I was in the supermarket and "Two of Hearts" starts playing. I'm thinking it's kind of catchy when suddenly I look up and see my friend at the other end of the aisle. We instantly get that look and start cracking up and dancing. I bet the security camera guys had a laugh. LOL

I always sing at the grocery store and when it's an upbeat song, I'm not the only one. Then again, I live in LA. Here, somebody could make "Grocery Shopping - The Musical" and it wouldn't seem weird at all!

here's another kicker about grocery music. When I was a kid those songs were old and boring and I hated them. but I recall my mom humming along with a lyric or two as she shopped. Now I know all the words to the songs and I think, "They play much better music now then when I was a kid..."

I'm not hurrying much of anything successfully. Slow down, slow down, I tell myself. And usually it works. And sometimes results in an unintended nap. Which then makes me have to hurry something when I wake up. :)

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Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog! I am an Operations and Human Resources Manager who decided to follow a long-time dream of becoming a picture book author. I also love telling a story with pictures, and am often seen with camera in-hand. I live in the beautiful state of Oregon with my amazing husband, son, and daughter, and a sweet, stubborn, little spaz of a Yorkie who has us all wrapped around his little paw!